Public consultation on the Health and Safety Authority Strategy Statement 2022-2024 The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) is currently developing its next Strategy Statement for the period 2022–2024. As part of this process, the HSA is seeking the views of interested parties on a range of...
Working long hours is killing hundreds of thousands of people a year in a worsening trend that may accelerate further due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization has said. In the first global study of the loss of life associated with longer working hours,...
Government publishes updated Work Safely Protocol 14 May 2021 The Government today (14 May 2021) published updated guidance to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace to staff.The Work Safely Protocol is the second revision of the Return to Work Safely Protocol, first published in May...
The Healthy Ireland Strategic Action Plan 2021–2025 Launched The Healthy Ireland Strategic Action Plan 2021–2025, provides a clear roadmap of how we, as a society, can continue to work together to bring about good health, access to services, healthy environments, and the promotion of resilience and...
Workers' Memorial Day 28 April 2021 International Workers’ Memorial Day (IWMD) is taking place on Wednesday, 28 April 2021. The European Trade Union Confederation slogan for IWMD 2021 is: "Workplace health & safety – it’s your right". The day aims to: Commemorate all those who have been...
SOLAS Safe Pass, CSCS & QSCS Training was suspended due to COVID-19 restrictions for the second time January 2021 with limited training for Safe Pass from 23 February 2021 and CSCS / QSCS from 5 March 2021. SOLAS has now been advised that resumption of training may take...
The chief executive of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board has said that a new set of guidelines should see the level of damages awarded in personal injury cases reduce by 40% to 50%. Rosalind Carroll said the new guidelines will impact personal injury awards made through...
HSA launches a safety inspection campaign to target transport operations and vehicles at work. New report shows 217 work related vehicle deaths from 2010 -2019. The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) will begin a two-week transport operations and vehicles at work inspection and awareness campaign from Monday,...
Tánaiste Signs Code of Practice on Right to Disconnect All employees officially have the Right to Disconnect from work and have a better work-life balance, after Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment Leo Varadkar TD brought in a new Code of Practice, effective immediately. The...
Health and Safety Authority launches the Good Practice Awards in conjunction with the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) has launched the Irish leg of the EU Healthy Workplaces Good Practice Awards with a closing date of...
Slip, trip and fall personal injury claims against the State cost €90m over a five-year period – but a report warns the true expense could be four times that when indirect costs are included. The Risk Research report by the State Claims Agency (SCA) has found that...
A public consultation on enhancing and reforming the remit of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) has commenced. Launched by the Minister for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation, Robert Troy, it is part of the Government's Action Plan for Insurance Reform. The objective of the consultation...
30th All Ireland Occupational Safety Awards Updates Upcoming entry deadlines [Further entry details below] Early Bird Deadline: 28 May 2021 at 17.00hrs Standard Entry Deadline: 2 July 2021 at 17.00hrs Late Entry Deadline: 30 July 2021 at 17.00hrs (additional fee applies) Dedicated awards website The dedicated awards website, safetyawards.ie, is now live! Here you will find all the...
The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) has recently published a new website section dedicated to remote working. Guidance and advice is available on all aspects of remote working, in addition to several key resources such as the HSA’s new Working from Home Guidelines. The Government’s National...
Two-week quarry safety blitz underway by Health and Safety Authority A two-week workplace safety blitz on quarries is currently underway by the Health and Safety Authority (HSA). The Quarry Safety campaign from 1–12 March will focus on known causes of fatal incidents at quarries, for example...
Limited Provision of Safe Pass Training for Essential Projects SOLAS Safe Pass Training was suspended due to COVID-19 restrictions for the second time January 2021. SOLAS has now been advised that limited resumption of Safe Pass training may take place with immediate effect to meet the needs of...
New Workplace Bullying Code of Practice Approved Minister Damien English, Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail has approved the publication of a new Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) / Health and Safety Authority (HSA) Code of Practice for Employers and Employees on the Prevention and Resolution of...
HSA releases Programme of Work for 2021 The HSA has released its Programme of Work for 2021. This is the third and final year for implementation of the HSA’s Strategy Statement for 2019–21.COVD-19, Brexit and Priority Sectors (agriculture, construction and health and social care) are listed among...
The Minister of State for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection, Michael English, requested that the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) and the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) review their respective Codes of Practice on bullying in the workplace and to develop...
SOLAS Safe Pass courses suspended SOLAS has instructed all Approved Training Organisations (ATOs) and Safe Pass instructors to temporarily suspend Safe Pass courses. SOLAS's parent department, the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science has informed SOLAS that Safe Pass courses fall within the Government's most...
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar urges employers to facilitate working from home Sources: independent.ie and rte.ie The Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar, has urged employers to enable as many workers as possible to stay home because the increase in COVID-19 cases is now "beyond...
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar urges bosses to facilitate working from home Sources: independent.ie rte.ie The Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar, has made an appeal to bosses to allow as many workers as possible to stay home because the increase in COVID cases is “beyond anything...
Nineteen fatalities on Irish farms reported in 2020 The significant number of fatalities on Irish farms in 2020 as a result of workplace incidents has been highlighted in a New Year’s message to farmers from Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the...
NISO would like to wish all our members a very Happy Christmas and New Year following what has been a difficult and challenging year. We hope that all our members can enjoy the holiday season while staying healthy and safe. It is important that we...
The Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar TD, has signed into law new regulations and a Code of Practice to protect workers exposed to COVID-19 in the workplace. The new Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Biological Agents) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 and...
Legislation Update SI No 539 of 2020 Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Biological Agents) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 These Regulations amend the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Biological Agents) Regulations 2013 and give effect to Commission Directive (EU) 2019/1833 of 24 October 2019 (relating to general...
The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment has today, 20 November 2020, published the new Work Safely Protocol. The Work Safely Protocol is a revision of the Return to Work Safely Protocol published in May 2020. The revised Protocol incorporates the current advice on the Public...
Bullying is cited as grounds for almost 35% of unfair dismissal cases taken to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), with men more likely to be the alleged perpetrator, according to two studies on bullying and ageism carried out by Dublin City University. The research also found...
HSA release its 2019 Annual Report The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) has released its Annual Report for 2019. The report outlines all the HSA’s activities during 2019 across its 5 “Strategic Priorities”, namely: 1. Regulate; 2. Promote; 3. Accredit; 4. Influence; 5. How We Work. Here are...
Study finds retail workers serving customers have fivefold risk of COVID-19 Research likely to raise questions over measures to protect retail staff from infection Retail workers serving customers are five times more likely to test positive for COVID-19 than their colleagues who do not interact with the...
Ireland moves to Level 5 COVID-19 Restrictions As of midnight on Wednesday 21 October all of Ireland will be placed on Level 5 of the Plan for Living with COVID. Level 5 restrictions will remain in place for a period of 6 weeks. Please see the following resources: Department...
The European Week for Health and Safety at Work is taking place from 19-23 October 2020. This year’s European Safety Week is raising awareness about the new Healthy Workplaces Campaign 2020-22 on the topic: Healthy Workplaces Lighten the Load. This campaign aims to tackle work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). With hundreds of awareness-raising events taking...
Bill to protect vulnerable workers introduced 7 October 2020 The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Amendment) Bill 2020 was introduced in the Dáil on 7 October with the aim of protecting workers who cannot work from home in settings such as meat plants and care homes....